Help Fight Garlic Mustard!

Plant Predators in the Garden

Now that spring has arrived, gardeners are taking stock of their gardens. The
BVBTC is also taking stock of BTC properties under it’s management. The
Club is particularly concerned with the growth of garlic mustard and buckthorn
in the Beaver Valley. They are invasive, garlic mustard particularly so, and the
subjects of annual culls. But there are other plants that are also problematic.
Some even pose a health hazard, like giant hogweed and wild parsnip.

Some of the most problematic plants share these characteristics: ability to
thrive in a wide range of environments, produce a large quantity of seeds and
seedlings, spread by underground rhizomes, have vigorous growth and dense
growth habit and have little to no appeal to local fauna.

Be on the look out in your own gardens and properties for some of the invasive
species that are spreading in Ontario. Recognizing a plant as an invasive is an
important first step. See a list of
Ontario’s top terrestrial and aquatic plant thugs that have been
pushing out our native species. Remove invasive plants by cutting plants to the
ground or pulling. Dispose of invasive plants only in the trash or at landfill
in tightly closed bags. Do not compost! Repeat this process through the growing
season. Keep in mind that you are trying to weaken the remaining root system
and it may take more than a single growing season to exhaust the plant. Adding
a thick layer of mulch to garden beds slows regrowth; just don’t mulch
over the crowns of plants you want to keep.

Not every plant invader comes by way of seed or root stock. Some we’ve
happily purchased at the local nursery or garden centre! Be aware that some
popular plants sold at nurseries and garden centres are indeed invasive,
including goutweed, English ivy, periwinkle, barberry and even Norway maple.
Luckily, there are non-invasive alternatives available for these popular
species. Click the link for
non-invasive alternatives.

New Hike Leader!

Photo courtesy Kevin Post, 2018.

The Beaver Valley Bruce Trail Club welcomes a new hike leader, Kevin Post!

Growing up in a family that was outdoorsy and loved to camp many times a year,
Kevin became very fond of the outdoors at an early age. The family lived in
northwest Burlington and the Bruce Trail was near at hand, allowing for easy
access for hikes with family and friends. This fondness for the Trail partially
helped to direct his future into landscape architecture and to becoming an artist.

During his high school years, Kevin started to master many visual art mediums
(watercolor, oil, acrylic, pen and ink, charcoal, graphite pencil, etc.) while
spending time sketching scenes of the Trail along with the flora and fauna.
Much of his art was put on hold as Kevin pursued a creative career as a
landscape architect.

In 2017 Kevin took early retirement. He wanted to portray the beauty of nature
through his work rather than designing landscapes to be maintained through
force and control. After retirement, Kevin started an end-to-end of the Bruce
Trail, both to complete a bucket list item and to work on his artwork. Kevin
continues to work on completing this goal. He hopes to one day complete the
Bruce Trail while sketching and photographing the experience. He is amazed to
see how much the Trail changes as it meanders along the 850-plus kilometers of
the Escarpment. “As one moves along the Trail, the amount of past and
present human influence, changes in the flora and fauna, plus the number of
invasive species all changes with each step. It is just amazing to watch!”

After the many years of hiking, sketching, photographing and enjoying the Bruce
Trail, Kevin thought it was time to start giving back to this great volunteer
organization.
Join Kevin as he leads his first hike
May 11 at Eugenia Falls!

May We Go Again

Photo credit Marg Yaraskavitch 2017.

The BVBTC was met with overwhelming demand for this fall’s End-to-End
event. In fact we were fully booked by the end of the first day registration
opened!

We have an alternative for folks who don’t wish to wait until 2021
for the next scheduled event. Margaret O’Dell will lead 4 hikes over
2 weekends as a Spring Challenge End-to-End. Hikers who complete this hike
series will be eligible to receive the Apple End-to-End badge for only $5.

The first 2 hikes begin over the Victoria Day weekend, May 18 and 19, with
the final 2 hikes over the weekend of June 1-2. Hikers must pre-register with
Margaret and be able to sustain a brisk pace for the duration of the hike. See
Spring Challenge End-to-End for details and contact information.

See May Hikes
for details on all of this month’s organized hikes. Membership is not
required to join our hikes. New hikers are always welcome.